No new dams will be built in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins in Uttarakhand, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has stated in its counter-affidavit filed in a Supreme Court case on May 19, 2026.
Alaknanda Hydro Power Company Limited is the appellant in the case, and Anuj Joshi and others are the respondents.
In the wake of the Kedarnath tragedy of June 2013, the Supreme Court, in its landmark decision on August 13, 2013, barred the grant of environmental or forest clearance to any hydro project in Uttarakhand and directed the MoEFCC to form an expert body. Following the court’s direction, Expert Body-I and then Expert Body-II were formed.
“The central government rejected big dam proposals of Uttarakhand including Bowala Nandprayag and Devsari dams. It has acknowledged the disaster vulnerability of the higher Himalayas as described by the Ravi Chopra Committee (EB-1) in 2014,” said environmentalist Hemant Dhyani, who is involved in the case.
Expert Body II submitted its report in March 2020, examining 70 hydropower projects and recommending approval for 26. The government partially accepted this report and approved only seven projects.
Subsequently, on August 8, 2024, the court constituted a new high-level committee (CABSEC) chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, comprising the secretaries of MoEFCC, the Union Ministry of Power, and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, and the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand. On January 20, 2026, the court granted the government three months to present its final decision before the Supreme Court. This affidavit has been filed in compliance with this order.
The affidavit said this is the collective and unanimous position of the three ministries.
It clarified that “only seven hydropower projects may be permitted to proceed, of which four are already operational and three have made substantial physical and financial progress and no other new hydropower project will be undertaken in the upper reaches of the Ganga River in Uttarakhand.”
The projects that have been given the green signal are Tehri PSP (Bhagirathi, 1000 MW, operational), Tapovan Vishnugad (Dhauliganga, 520 MW, 75 per cent construction), Vishnugad Pipalkoti (Alaknanda, 444 MW, 80 per cent construction), Singoli Bhatwari (Mandakini, 99 MW, operational), Phata Byung (Mandakini, 76 MW, 74 per cent construction), Madhyamaheshwar (Madhyamaheshwar Ganga, 15 MW, operational) and Kaliganga-II (Kaliganga, 4.5 MW, operational).
The CABSEC committee submitted its report on November 6, 2024. According to the affidavit, the committee recommended only five of the 21 projects. These included Bowala Nandprayag, Devsari, Bhyundar Ganga, Jhalakoti, and Urgam-II. However, the committee deemed seven projects inappropriate due to their location in the dangerous path of glacial lake outburst floods. These included Alaknanda, Tamak Lata, Lata Tapovan, Jelam Tamak, Bhilangana-IIA, Bhilangana-IIB, and Bhilangana-IIC.
The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti also raised serious objections to five projects recommended by the committee in its office memorandum dated August 22, 2025. According to the affidavit, “The EB-II report completely ignored the cumulative impact of hydropower projects. If all the new projects are implemented, the free flow of the river will be severely affected.” The ministry also stated, “The risks and damage to the environment, including the health of the river, far outweigh the financial and economic benefits of generating hydropower of this magnitude.”
The affidavit also lists five features that distinguish the region from any other river basin in the country. It states, “The Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin is the main headwater of the country’s largest river, the Ganga, which supports nearly half the country’s population.”
A minimum flow policy of 1,000 cusecs has also been mentioned. Citing the spirit of the Haridwar Agreement of 1916, the affidavit states that the design of every structure on the Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, and Mandakini must ensure a minimum uninterrupted flow of 1,000 cusecs.
The Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin is deeply embedded in the nation’s cultural and spiritual identity in ways unparalleled by any other river basin. The five Prayags and the four Dhams are located within this basin.
The affidavit cited dozens of disasters, including the Kedarnath (2013), Chamoli earthquake (1999), Joshimath landslide (2023), Dharali flash flood (August 2025), and stated that the region is prone to persistent and recurring disasters. It also cited Nanda Devi National Park, Valley of Flowers, Gangotri National Park, and Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, calling the region a hotbed of indispensable biodiversity.
The affidavit also clarified that the government does not deny the importance of hydropower. The government affidavit states, “Hydro-electric projects are generally an important source of clean and renewable energy that supports the national goals of energy security, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation.” It also adds, “However, the development of hydro projects cannot be done with uniform criteria across all river systems and geographies.”
The matter is now listed for hearing on May 20, 2026, where the Supreme Court will consider this affidavit.